Gofran Biswas Palash, Kalapara (Patuakhali)

The bootcamp training of 440 new sailors of the B/2024 batch of the Bangladesh Navy concluded with a colourful graduation parade.

On this occasion, the charming parade was held at the Banouja Sher-e-Bangla Parade Ground in Kalapara, Patuakhali on Sunday.

Chief of the Navy Admiral M. Nazmul Hasan was present as the chief guest and inspected the parade and took the salute. Later, he distributed awards among the new sailors who achieved outstanding results.

Among the new sailors of the B/2024 batch of the Navy, Md. AKM Shahadat Hossain Sadi achieved the highest results in all professional and academic subjects and received the 'Navy Chief's Award' as the best smart sailor. Md. Shahinur Alam Shimul secured the second place and the 'Kamkhul Award' and Sabbir Rahman secured the third place and the 'Sher-e-Bangla Award'.

In his address to the new sailors, the Navy Chief said that he gratefully remembers all the fearless freedom fighters and naval commandos who participated in the independence war and all the martyrs who lost their lives in the anti-discrimination movement in July-August.

He said that for the continuous development and prosperity of Bangladesh, the Navy is being developed as a modern and technologically advanced navy, which will be able to play a leading role in sea-based economic activities besides ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country. In order to build a capable and strong navy, a significant number of modern warships, special forces, helicopters, MPAs and submarines have already been added to the fleet and several naval bases have been commissioned. With the continuation of capacity enhancement, the Bangladesh Navy is today a modern three-dimensional navy. In addition, activities to add new bases, advanced ships, modern combat equipment and technology are ongoing to increase the capacity of the three-dimensional navy.

The Navy Chief also said that shipyards are building ships with their own technology under the efficient management of the Navy. In continuation of this, five patrol craft built at the Khulna Shipyard have already been added to the fleet. The process of adding 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and 3 Landing Craft Tanks (LCT) to the navy is under process and the Navy Chief expressed hope that 2 Utility Helicopters will be added to the Bangladesh Navy very soon.

Smart and trained sailors are needed to build a modern navy to face the challenges of the current world. To continue the progress of the Navy, the Navy Chief called upon the new sailors to make proper use of the knowledge acquired from the New Sailors Training School and develop themselves as competent sailors and properly discharge their duties on the path of national security and progress. The Navy Chief sincerely thanked the new sailors for choosing the sacred duty of serving the country and building the nation as a profession. The Navy Chief also expressed his hope that today's new sailors will play a leading role in protecting the vast maritime borders of Bangladesh in the future as well as building a new Bangladesh.

The Navy Headquarters' Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Material) Khandaker Akhter Hossain, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Logistics) Md. Zahir Uddin, Commander Dhaka Naval Region Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad, Chairman of Payra Port Authority Rear Admiral Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, Area Commander Khulna Region Rear Admiral Golam Sadeq, Commander of Banouja Sher-e-Bangla Naval Base Commodore Ehsan Ullah Khan, high-ranking military and civilian officials, dignitaries from Patuakhali, Barisal and Khulna regions and guardians of the new sailors were present.

Incidentally, Banouja Sher-e-Bangla Naval Base officially started its operations on July 12, 2023. This naval base has been established on 515 acres of land. Navy boot camp training is conducted at this base. So far, 4 batches have successfully completed training from this naval base. It is the largest naval base in Bangladesh.